New Cruise Benefits For MGM Rewards Tier Members Sailing Celebrity & Royal Caribbean

A bit over a week ago MGM Rewards & Royal Caribbean Group announced a new tier system that is somewhat revolutionary as it ties in the qualification and benefits of the MGM Rewards program into the gaming activity while sailing.

Members of MGM are now able to have their offshore gaming activity on the ship counted towards their MGM tier status, and at the same time, a new system for additional onboard credit (based on MGM tier) is introduced as well.

You can access the MGM newsroom with the official announcement of these changes here.

When I first heard about this, I was naturally excited because I derived a lot of benefits over the years from the cooperation between MGM & their cruise partners Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean.

This new setup is making an effort to blend in the players’ MGM membership when he steps on a cruise rather than push him towards the cruise line’s own program, and while that might sound great right away, it might actually not be so. Let’s have a look.

Here is the official press release:

MGM Rewards members can now earn their way to higher MGM Rewards Tier Status when vacationing at sea with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, two leading vacation brands in the Royal Caribbean Group portfolio. The newly introduced MGM Rewards Onboard Earning Benefit provides more ways to accumulate MGM Rewards Tier Credits, Points and SLOT DOLLARS for onboard gaming play on more than 40 ships, while exploring the world. 

“Extending the opportunity to earn onboard is a true game changer for our members,” said Anil Mansukhani, MGM Resorts’ Vice President of Loyalty Marketing. “We’re always looking to raise the stakes for our best-in-class program, and the ability for our members to earn MGM Rewards on gaming spend when vacationing at sea maximizes every dollar spent.”

The new MGM Rewards Onboard Earning Benefit is available when booking an MGM Rewards loyalty offer, certificate offer or group cruise. To be eligible for the perks, MGM Rewards members must provide their MGM Rewards number at the time of booking and use their SeaPass card while playing slots, video poker, or table games onboard. Rewards will be reflected in members’ MGM Rewards accounts within 30 days of the final day of the cruise.

Building on the enhanced perks recently announced for MGM Rewards members, the expanded benefits now include:

• MGM Rewards Platinum and NOIR members will receive greater access to benefits for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, including upgraded stateroom types, a larger variety of exciting itineraries and longer cruise options redeemable on select sailings through the Annual Cruise Benefit.
• NOIR members now receive an Annual Cruise Benefit for up to 10 days in a Junior Suite on select sailings or a $3,000 trade-in value towards a new booking on a cruise of their choice (some exclusions apply).
• Platinum members receive an Annual Cruise Benefit for up to seven days in a Balcony stateroom or up to $1,500 trade-in value towards a new booking on a cruise of their choice (some exclusions apply).
• The Annual Cruise Benefit is now available for MGM Rewards Gold members who are eligible to receive a cruise in an Oceanview stateroom for up to five days on select sailings or up to $750 trade-in value towards a new booking on a cruise of their choice (some exclusions apply).
• All MGM Rewards members now receive a new Onboard FreePlay Benefit, based on MGM Rewards Tier Status when booking an MGM Rewards loyalty offer, certificate offer or group cruise:
• NOIR: $200
• Platinum: $100
• Gold: $75
• Pearl: $50
• Sapphire: $25

Mansukhani added, “We listened to our members and are thrilled to deliver several outstanding enhancements to our long-standing partnership with these two leading vacation brands that our members will love, and the addition of the onboard earning benefit is icing on the cake.”

The new NOIR member benefit for up to 10 days in a Jr Suite is excellent, and Platinum members now also receive a significantly better offer with up to seven days in a Balcony stateroom. Even Gold members can sail up to five days on select cruises.

Officially, these offers are only for players with qualifying activity, and match status will not qualify you for these freebies (I guess they got burned long enough, including by yours truly).

Here is the new benefits chart:

The previous onboard credit is now presented in the form of a freeplay credit, which isn’t as great, and the amounts are also lower (I always used to get $300 OBC as NOIR on all of my Celebrity Cruises).

Another stipulation is that in order to obtain all these goodies, you need to book a cruise through an offer specifically designed for MGM members, meaning you won’t be able to book any MGM retail cruise and then receive these benefits. Annoying!

The points members earn in the Club Royale (on Royal Caribbean) or Blue Chip Club (on Celebrity) programs now count toward MGM’s rewards program as well.

Is that good? Well, that’ll depend on how they count the activity. I would hate to lose my offers via Blue Chip Club for the sake of earning MGM points.

I have previously covered the match opportunities between MGM and Celebrity/Royal Caribbean:

MGM Rewards Completed Annual Tier Downgrades, Celebrity Cruises Rematch Possible

It’s no secret that gaming activity is far more lucrative on the seas compared to land as far as comps go. You just need to watch yourself, calculate the exact amount of points needed for freebies and then walk once you reach what you need.

While land-based comps aren’t that great, free cruises can be worth many thousands of dollars alone, and I have covered quite a few trips I’ve taken over the years.

Conclusion

MGM Rewards, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity have revamped their partnership and will now offer new perks, including the ability to earn tier points while cruising and more generous free cruise packages for higher-qualified MGM tier members.

I’m particularly interested in what NOIR members will be offered on Celebrity, as there really isn’t a Junior Suite, the smallest suite option is a Celebrity Suite, which I had twice before as an unexpected upgrade.

This sounds all very promising, but before I sing praises, I’d love to see how all this plays out in reality. I’ve learned to be careful with these things over the years as I’ve gotten burned multiple times by their promotion materials that really didn’t hold what they say.

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